1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of lighting luminaires and in particular to small sized lighting luminaires which have light emitting diodes (LEDs) as the sources of illumination.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the development of semiconductor lighting devices, LED lighting sources including LED chips are in great demand in lighting luminaires used in both consumer and industrial markets. One problem with the existing LED lighting luminaires in the markets is that the LED lighting source generates considerable heat. Excess heat can result in failure of the operating components of the lighting luminaires. Therefore it is necessary to incorporate a heat dissipation apparatus into the LED lighting source of each luminaire in order to achieve a reasonable usable life for the luminaire.
Another problem with prior art LED lighting luminaires is that all of the components are integrated into a luminaire, so that if one component fails, malfunctions or otherwise goes bad, the failed component can't be replaced and it is necessary to replace the entire lighting luminaire. Therefore, there is a significant need for an improved lighting luminaire which contains replaceable operating components so that if one component fails, only the failed component needs to be replaced and the entire lighting luminaire does not need to be discarded.
One example of the LED lighting luminaires in the current marketplace is a small sized lighting luminaire which have an LED as the source of illumination. These small sized luminaires are fashionable for use as interior lighting for commercial buildings, art exhibits, restaurants, saloons, and book stores, and are also used for decorative residential ceiling lighting. The prior art small sized LED lighting luminaires are manufactured as single pieces with the heat dissipation sections having straight longitudinal fins. Therefore the prior art luminaires have less efficient heat dissipation which results in reduced life of the luminaires. In addition, the integrated design requires the entire prior art small sized LED luminaire to be replaced if one component malfunctions or otherwise fails in some manner.
Therefore there is a significant need for the small sized LED lighting luminaire which has an improved design including detachable and replaceable operating components and also has heat dissipation means which are improvements over prior art designs.